


On a Blackbird’s Wing

by elem (elem44)



Category: Star Trek: Voyager
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-26
Updated: 2016-10-26
Packaged: 2018-08-27 05:33:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,772
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8389168
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elem44/pseuds/elem
Summary: An Initiations episode addition and Endgame fixer-upper.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the 2010 VAMB Spring Fling story exchange for Mizvoy.
> 
> Thank you to Kim J for the beta.

Kathryn tucked the bundle she was carrying under her arm and rang the chime on Chakotay’s door.

The door slid open and she stepped into his quarters.

“Is that you, B’Elanna? I’m in here.”

Kathryn opened her mouth to announce her presence but before she could say a word, he emerged from the bedroom with only a towel wrapped around his hips and rubbing another over his wet hair.

“Spirits that feels bet… Captain!” He stopped dead in his tracks and did a quick about face into his bedroom, calling over his shoulder. “I’m sorry, Captain, I won’t be a minute.”

Kathryn was sorely tempted to tell him not to worry. She could stand looking at his semi-clad form for a little while longer without the risk of any long term damage. But she stayed silent and turned towards the viewport to watch the stars speed past while she waited for him to return.

He was true to his word and emerged a couple of minutes later dressed in his uniform but with his hair still slightly mussed.

She smiled. “I apologise for arriving unannounced but I wanted to bring this to you myself.”

Chakotay gave her a questioning look but it soon turned to one of surprise when Kathryn handed him the fur wrapped package.

He took it and looked up, his eyes meeting hers in astonishment. “My medicine bundle! Thank you, Captain but how…?” He frowned in confusion.

* * *

It had been a hell of a day. The anniversary of his father’s death was an emotionally charged occasion that was made even more poignant because of the distance from his home and the drastic change in his circumstances.

He’d met the Captain in the Mess hall at breakfast and she’d asked how he was coping. He’d been surprised – pleasantly so – that she’d remembered the significance of the date and she’d surprised him further by suggesting that he take one of the shuttles out alone to perform the pakra ritual in honour of his father. The only stipulation had been that he stay within communication range of Voyager.

Chakotay had jumped at the chance, thanking her sincerely for her thoughtfulness. She’d merely smiled, patted his chest and wished him a successful vision quest.

Neither of them had any idea that the day would become a fight for survival and a roller coaster ride of wins and losses.

With the Kazon boy, Kar under his wing, he’d lost the shuttle in a fire fight with the Kazon Ogla and with it, his medicine bundle. He never thought that he’d see it again but here it was and he couldn’t be more delighted.

* * *

Kathryn watched her first officer’s face as it changed from utter astonishment to warm delight. She couldn’t help smiling and felt a very satisfying sense of achievement with what she’d done.

It hadn’t been easy. The wreckage from the shuttle had been spread over a vast area of space but she’d spent a couple of hours setting up a computer program that sifted through the debris and identified the items that she’d described. The carved river stone had been her first find and then his blackbird’s wing – it was a little singed but in not in too bad a shape. Unfortunately the akoonah had been broken beyond repair, but she’d replicated him a new one. The animal skins had been damaged, but salvageable as well.

She’d taken the liberty of replicating a drawstring pouch that would protect the already fragile skins from further mishaps. She hoped that it was the right thing to do and didn’t infringe upon any religious customs or traditions.

* * *

Chakotay peeled back the layers of fur to find all the precious items he thought he’d lost forever sitting snugly within the slightly singed but original animal skins of his medicine bundle.

He ran his fingers across the familiar carved lines of the river stone, over the soft feathers of his blackbird’s wing, and the shiny surface of the akoonah before looking up.

The Captain smiled and his heart missed a beat. He returned her smile and was delighted to see her pupils dilate and her voice waver slightly as she explained. “I found them in the debris field but I’m afraid your akoonah was damaged beyond repair so I replicated a new one. I hope you don’t mind but I had to access your files for the mechanism’s specifications. I also replicated this.” She handed him a soft suede pouch with a drawstring opening. “I thought that since the skins are damaged, you might need something to keep them protected. I couldn’t find any information to tell me if it was an acceptable thing to do, so I won’t be offended if you can’t use it.”

Chakotay was overwhelmed. The thoughtfulness and attention to detail that had gone into this venture touched his heart deeply and on a day when his heart and soul were so vulnerable, he felt a powerful sense of kinship with this woman standing before him. She seemed to have an uncanny ability to tap into his innermost thoughts and feelings.

They had much in common; both having lost their fathers, men who had profoundly influenced their lives, in tragic circumstances, and although their upbringings had been vastly different ,they had both been instilled with strong codes of honour and tradition.

On several occasions the Captain had spoken of her mother’s insistence on maintaining certain family customs and traditional ways of life. Chakotay had a feeling that had his parents still been living, they would have liked Mrs. Janeway and her daughter very much.

He and this woman were cut from remarkably similar cloth. It was something that he’d recognised very early in this voyage and the thought had been a comforting one. He’d even fantasised about meeting the captain’s family one day and finding a place for himself within the extended Janeway clan.

It had been a pie in the sky sort of fantasy, but with no family of his own, the idea of belonging somewhere consoled him.

But for now, Voyager was his home and the people around him, this woman included, his family, and he would do everything within his power to protect and nurture them.

Taking a deep breath, he looked up and met her eyes. He was aware that what he did next would define their relationship for the rest of the journey, so, without hesitation he leaned forward and kissed his captain’s cheek.

Ignoring her shocked gasp, he took the suede pouch from her hand and slipped his medicine bundle inside, pulling the drawstring tight.

He looked into her eyes. “It is a beautiful gift, Captain, and I thank you with all my heart.”

* * *

Kathryn lifted her hand to her cheek and touched the place where he’d kissed her. Suddenly realising what she was doing, she dropped her hand to her side and stared at him as he placed his medicine bundle into the pouch.

He’d thanked her with all his heart and she knew in that moment that this extraordinary man and this remarkable relationship was one that would endure and define her.

She waited for the inevitable wash of fear and conflict that was destined to follow that realisation but all she felt was a slow burning warmth in her middle that brought with it a comforting and profound sense of belonging.

Stepping back, she let a slow smile spread across her features. “You are most welcome, Mr. Chakotay.”

The moment should have been awkward but she felt no embarrassment or discomfiture and as she moved to take her leave she stopped and made the request. “Breakfast in the Mess hall at 0700?”

His gentle smile broadened and he answered immediately. “0700. I’ll see you there.”

“Goodnight, Commander.”

* * *

“Goodnight, Captain.”

With a quiet swish of the door, she was gone.

Chakotay looked down at the pouch in his hands and eased open the drawstring. He pulled out his medicine bundle and sitting cross legged on the floor under his viewport, he spread out the animal skins on the floor in front of him. His fingers hovered reverently over each of the items before he placed his hand over the akoonah and intoned the well remembered prayer.

“A-koo-chee-moya. I pray on this day of memories to speak to my father, the one whom the wind called Kolopak. Father, if you can hear me among these unnamed stars, I ask you to continue to watch over me as you’ve always done. I also ask that you watch over a woman called Kathryn, she has a difficult road to travel. I ask that you keep her safe and whole during this arduous journey and hold her in your heart as you would one of your own. A-koo-chee-moya.”

* * *

Kathryn looked out the viewport of her Ready Room at the most amazing sight. Earth spun lazily below. That astonishing blue and green jewel that they had fought so long and hard to return to was now within their reach. Her heart was so full from the overpowering sense of wonder and delight that she could barely breathe.

Her mother and sister were down there waiting for her, as well as her nieces, aunts, uncles and cousins. She couldn’t wait to see them and hold them. It was a moment that she thought would never happen in her lifetime, but the Fates had been kind; against the odds they’d survived to make it home.

Tears stung her eyes as she let the realisation sink in and take root. The weight of responsibility began to lift, the tight rein she’d held on her heart loosened and she felt a lightness of being that she’d not known for many years.

The door chimed. She knew who it was and didn’t bother to brush away her tears. “Come.”

She smiled as Chakotay entered the room.

He matched her beaming smile and moved to stand beside her and look out at the planet below. “It’s beautiful.”

“There’s nothing like it anywhere else in the galaxy and we’re about the only people I know who can say that with absolute certainty.”

He huffed a laugh before turning towards her. “Are you ready to go? We’re the last ones left on board.”

Kathryn nodded and taking one last look around her Ready Room, she wove her arm through his. “Time to go home, Commander.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

* * *

He could see that she’d been crying, the shimmer of tears was evident as soon as he’d entered the room, but she hadn’t hidden them from him and he was grateful and relieved. It was a day filled with emotions of varying sorts. Elation and excitement at being home and meeting with family and friends missed for so long – but it was also a day of farewells and sadness, too, as Voyager’s crew disbanded and moved on with their lives.

Chakotay was feeling a profound sense of loss and although he could ride on the coattails of Kathryn’s happiness, his arrival in the Alpha Quadrant only brought with it reminders of losses and pain. His sister, Sekaya, was still weeks away from Earth and he would be alone once he beamed away from the ship.

He hadn’t spoken to Kathryn of his feelings because he didn’t want to mute any of her happiness. This was a moment she’d lived and almost died for many times during their seven years in the Delta Quadrant and she deserved every moment of joy and celebration.

As they walked together through the deserted corridors for the last time as Captain and First Officer, he had to consciously stop himself doubling over in pain – it was almost exquisite in its intensity. Instead, he concentrated on the feeling of her arm looped through his and the press of her hip against him as they walked in the familiar rhythm grown out of years together as the command team. The swish of the transporter room doors heralded the end of this amazing odyssey and his time at this woman’s side.

Without relinquishing her hold on his arm, for which he was incredibly grateful, Kathryn took her place on the transporter platform. She looked up and smiled.

“Energise.”

The room faded around them and suddenly they were in the sunshine with Earth beneath their feet.

Chakotay watched the woman at his side as she scanned the crowd looking for her family.

“Kathryn! There she is mom. Kathryn!”

Her face broke into a dazzling smile as Phoebe and Gretchen Janeway appeared through the sea of people and headed towards them.

Kathryn turned to Chakotay, her smile so infectious that he found himself grinning despite his deep sorrow.

Phoebe reached them first and threw her arms around her sister, but as he tried to extricate his arm, Kathryn only held onto him tighter and Chakotay was pulled into the embrace despite his attempts to avoid it. Within moments, Gretchen arrived and the same thing happened, but this time, after releasing her daughter, Kathryn’s mother turned to him and wearing a familiar but tearful smile, she cupped his face between her aging hands and kissed his cheek.

“Chakotay, it’s wonderful to finally meet you. Welcome, my boy. I’m so happy to have you home with us.”

He swallowed and tried to stifle his tears, but there was no more room inside to hold anything in, so he let them spill down his cheeks as he was welcomed by Kathryn’s aunts, uncles and extended family.

Not once during this entire time did Kathryn let go of his arm and he was eternally grateful for her support. He didn’t know if he would have been able to stand if she’d relinquished her hold.

It wasn’t long before everyone had been welcomed, and with the excitement of the initial meeting now over, Chakotay took a moment to gather himself. He looked down at Kathryn and her eyes found his and she smiled.

He held her gaze and leaned a little closer. “Thank you.”

“What for?”

“For this.” He looked up and around at her family.

“It’s what you deserve, Chakotay, and you know you are a part of this forever. No matter where the wind takes you, you will have a home here with me and my family, always.”

He stared at her, stunned. How did she know? They’d never discussed this but she’d instinctively known of his fears and sadness. His chest filled to bursting and he found it hard to swallow past the fisted lump in his throat. “How did you know?”

She reached up and wiped a tear from his cheek and smiled. “I’ve always known and I’m just happy that I can at last repay the favour.”

He looked at her questioningly. “Favour?”

“Your father has been watching over me for all these years and it’s time for my family to watch over you. You’re where you belong.”

Tugging his arm closer to her side, Kathryn rested her head against his shoulder as she edged nearer to her mother. Gretchen moved to Chakotay’s side and without missing a beat, took a proprietary hold of his hand, gripping it in between her own as she continued her conversation with Aunt Martha and Phoebe.

It seemed like the most natural thing in the world and he heaved a deep and satisfied breath. Turning his head, he kissed Kathryn’s head before engaging one of her uncles in a conversation.

He was home.

* * *

Smiling serenely, Kathryn watched as Chakotay pulled his medicine bundle from the well worn suede pouch and set it on the floor in front of the lounge room window of their house in Indiana.

They’d been home for a couple of months now and had found this house within walking distance of her mother’s, having moved in only a matter of days ago. Their return to the Alpha Quadrant had been all they’d ever imagined and Kathryn was supremely happy with her life.

She and Chakotay had become lovers the night of their arrival and had not been apart since that day.

Kathryn took one last look at her lover and friend, and turned to leave him to his vision quest. His words followed her as she stepped into the hall and she smiled.

“A-koo-chee-moya. I am far from the bones of my ancestors but here amongst the people I love, I pray on this day of memories to speak to Kolopak, whose spirit rides on the wind of these new but welcome stars of home. I send him thanks for watching over Kathryn and hope that the spirits find him and honour him with our song and our love. A-koo-chee-moya.“

_Fin_.


End file.
